I hated this slogan. Not because of what it stands for. Obviously, it's the correct moral and ethical choice. In a perfect world it's how everyone would act, especially an individual hoping to be the next President of the United States. Unfortunately, the world we live in is very far from perfect. And now this phrase just reminds me of mistakes, regrets, and one of several missed opportunities.
I think Hillary should have gotten filthy. Andy Dufresne dirty. Like she crawled through "500 yards of shit smelling foulness" just to come out clean on the other side. Every time Trump attacked her "30 years of political inaction," she should have asked where he was. What societal good he accomplished borrowing daddy's money and failing at business after business. For every comment about an email, or Benghazi, or her husband's impropriety; there should have been an equal and opposing reaction. Sexual assault, fraud, racketeering, ineptitude, racism, bigotry. Load up the chamber and fire off a round.
It wouldn't have been pretty. It could have backfired spectacularly; especially as Trump seems to avoid the tarnish and consequence of scandal as if they were "flat-chested women." But "going high" - however right an action - wasn't enough. For the voters that Trump had already wrangled - the "mid-western common folk" that Hilary really needed to sway - it came off as elitist. It came off as preachy. It showed a reluctance to get in the muck and fight for your beliefs with passion and fire. However "wrong" this mentality would have been, it was what these people wanted to see. Hillary in the trenches. Because - whether we liked it or not - this was trench warfare. And you win trench warfare with bullets and grenades. Not etiquette handbooks and Purell.
But, here we are. Two months away from living in the United States of Trump. The land of the HUGE, the home of the WRONG.
Like many other Americans - or at least those who live in similar bubbles - I still can't really peg down a single emotion to describe where I am at. Everything vacillates. Feelings come and go like waves against the shore. Or, in perhaps a more apt analogy; emotions swirl and blend like Trump's hair in a strong breeze. My thoughts meander like a hair follicle unbound by physics or natural law.
Sometimes I'm mad. I'm mad at people: of the collective and individual variety. I want to cast Florida adrift into the Atlantic, I want to light Debbie Wasserman Schultz's hair ablaze with several tiki torches. Sometimes I'm sad. I'm sad for people of color, of the Muslim faith, of the LGBT community. I want to tell them we have their back. I want to piss a heart onto a confederate flag. I'm unnecessarily frustrated at the color red. It knows what it did. I'm fearful of what comes next. Of where the game of action and reaction will escalate to. I'm angry, anxious, overwhelmed, embarrassed, and 43% whiskey.
I'm "flabber-aghasted."
And I don't really think that I'm in a position to tell other people how they should feel or act. But I'd like to, because it's my blog, and I DO WHAT I WANT.
To the "good" people who support Trump, I'd ask you to be patient with us. We were kind of caught off guard by this. Many of us were ten to twelve lines into our "I'm With Her" victory Facebook posts; and electing a racist, misogynistic, xenophobe was a pretty big swerve. We really are good people, but were using some pretty broad brushstrokes to paint pictures of you. It's lazy and ignorant. Not all of you are racists, or homophobes, or - politically speaking - "He-Man Woman Haters." Some of you are decent people who felt disenfranchised and forgotten, and believed that a political outsider was a way out from that. That's fair. Maybe not smart, but fair. We don't mean to lump you in with the crowd, but we're still in panic mode here.
To the "bad" people who support Trump: "Fuckin' A" guys. You couldn't wait like a day? Just because we elected one asshole doesn't mean the rest of you get Carte Blanche to run amok. If I were you - and I thank ALL of the Gods that I'm not - I would drastically slow your roll. You are on the wrong side of history. America won't let hate, and prejudice, and the toxicity of your beliefs engulf this country. Even if our leader might look the other way, we will not.
To the people who supported Jill Stein or Gary Johnson: Shhhh. Just, shhhh.
To the Democrats, the Liberals, the "Bernie Bros," and the "With-Hers:" let's not lose our heads. I agree it is not the time to rest on our laurels, but I think we need to be smarter and more thoughtful in our action. I don't think - and that's an emphatic "I" - that we should be investing so heavily in trying to "right the wrong." The election happened and like it or not, we need to let Trump be our next President. He will fail, he will make mistakes, he will ruin this for himself. People - and most importantly, people who supported him - will get to see the monster for what he is. The rich will get richer, the poor poorer. There will still be lobbyists, and extremists. Some of the people who got conned will learn their lesson, and maybe the voting populace in general will get smarter. We don't get that growth if we spend the next two months trying to vacate Trump before he gets into the oval office. And in the meantime, the divide between liberals and conservatives (or our parties, or however you want to define it) will get worse. Which is not something this country can afford.
We can still be vigilant and passionate. If you're worried about climate change, a VP who believes in conversion therapy, or Ben Carson being anywhere near a textbook: do something. Show support for clean jobs and sustainable energy. Try to educate someone you personally know about the struggles of the LGBT community. Send Ben Carson a word search without any words, or a maze without an exit. That could buy us months. Be involved in the politics that are important to you, and be an integral part in making sure they don't take steps back in the next four years. Don't give up on things. Don't give up on people, no matter who they voted for this election. Don't get angry, get active. Stay positive, stay accepting, stay strong. It may not be easy, but it's the path we need to take. Because, "when they go low, we go high."
Because we sure as shit can't go any lower.
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